Lovesick
by Estearisa
Summary: Pascal alone with her studies and inventions is unexpectedly visited by Hubert when she is overcome by her sudden "illness".


**So here's my one shot of Hubert x Pascal. I've had most of it written for about a month, but I set it aside and only wrote when I had time in my computer class. Hope you enjoy! Its my first fanfiction actually centered around one couple...**

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The clanging and clinging of machinery resounded throughout Pascal's room. She had a pencil behind in her ear, papers scattered about, and tools covering her floor. She jumbled around tweaking a few bolts and nuts that seemed loose or out of place. She wiped the sweat from her face as she worked without falter. The only snack she'd have with her would either be a bowl of mashed bananas or a couple of melted chocolate bars. Her pungent odor did not change; she did not take showers daily or even weekly, but thankfully for her Fourier was not there to lecture her about it.

Though today she felt different than how she usually did. She had frequent headaches when trying to calculate formulas or decipher ways to make things work the way she wanted. She sweat more than usual and within only a couple of hours felt a sudden fatigue wore her down. A queasy feeling in her stomach made her jolt back and immediately lay flat on the floor.

Pascal groaned and rolled on her side.

"Ugh…my tummy is totally not happy with me today. Blarghhh." She got up and went to the bathroom.

Pascal's bathroom was absolutely filthy. The bathtub had grime and filth at the bottom; the shampoos we're cluttered and there was toilet paper unraveled on the floor. Pascal washed her face thoroughly in her sink and left as she rubbed her eyes.

"Guess I'm just feeling a little woozy today" she mumbled to herself as she began to start working again.

Whether it was a new development with a type of machinery or clanking with old devices that were already intact, she always had a ways of working with them. Today, in her case – was obviously different. Thoughts jumbled around in her mind but nothing was working in ways she wanted.

"If I tinker around with this piece here – wait no – this thingy could go in here – no, that's not gonna work..." She scratched her head running frantic fingers through her multicolored hair. "Sheesh! What the heck is up with my brain today?"

There was a sudden knock on her door that made her jump up. She lifted her heavy body and dragged herself to the door.

Hubert stood in the door way looking away. "Pascal, did you receive me message via your-" he turned to her and immediately observed her stance, her drowsy, pale face and gave sudden concern to himself. "Pascal, are you alright? You look extremely pale..."

"I'm fine Hu—just a little tired." Her non-enthusiasm gave Hubert even more worry. She did not look herself nor did she have the same exciting, upbeat aura around her that Hubert was so accustomed to.

"You most certainly don't look alright," Hubert lifted his glasses up and shut the door behind him. He felt Pascal's searing forehead; her hair was drenched near her bangs from sweat. "You have a fever Pascal, what are you doing up? You should be in bed." He persisted as he gave a solemn but worrisome look.

"I was um..." Pascal put a hand to her head. "I was working all day and night so I didn't sleep." She felt her head being pounded with intense pain. Her legs wobbled and she would have keeled over if it weren't for Hubert having a quick reaction to catch her. Pascal's small weighted body leaned on Hubert and her head was pressed against him. "S-Sorry." she muttered.

"I-Its fine, I'm going to help you get to your bed, alright?" Hubert's face was turning a bright red; if it weren't his crush leaning against him he could have handled this much more efficiently and without such intense nervousness. He took a breath and calmly helped Pascal to her bed. He then laid her down softly on the cushioned surface. Pascal's face was drowsy and flushed. Her eyes we're restless and her hair was messy.

"I think it would be best if I went to go get Cheria. I don't know if she can help with illness but I suppose I could ask." As Hubert stood up his arm was nudged with a slight pull from his sleeve. "Don't" her voice was so soft it almost sounded like Sophie. "Don't leave Hu" her half-opened eyes were frowning at Hubert. Her expressionless face made it even more difficult for Hubert to turn away. "I want you to stay." She gave a weak smile.

It made Hubert uneasy to see her like this, so he didn't object. "If you insist…" he responded. "But I'll message her via your communicator to see if she's available." He tapped the communicator and the small bird fluttered out the window.

Hubert observed Pascal's working space; it was cluttered with wonky tools and devices that even he wouldn't be able to identify. He thought to himself on how to treat fevers. The worse feeling right now to him is feeling useless while Pascal is suffering with an illness. He adjusted his glasses and pondered on about it.

When Hubert was younger, Cheria was often sick so he'd visit her periodically with Asbel while he cared for her. He remembered Asbel always put a cold wash cloth on her head to reduce her temperature if her fever got worse. He decided to do the same and place a cold wash cloth he found in her bathroom (luckily being the only clean one) on her burning forehead.

"I hate to sound like your sister but you need to take better care of yourself." He picked up a couple bowls left on the ground. "You're not getting enough nutrition and your lack of sleep weakens your immune system." He placed the bowls into her sink. "That's the easiest way to get sick." He was actually surprised she didn't get sick more frequently considering the way she took care of herself. Hubert was no doctor himself, but its mere common sense to know how living this way could inhabit some sort of illness.

He sighed as he piled a couple books that were scattered on the ground. Pascal was such a troublesome girl; that's why he felt the need to give her some assurance and advice. Caring for her in a way that made him seem very assertive and over-bearing; but in reality he was actually genuinely worried for her and her well-being. His reason for being here after all, was because she had not responded within a few days' notice to his last message. Pascal had always sent random messages about her day, work, and sometimes just useless babble about how many bananas she had eaten. Usually she responded within a range of a couple days, but he had not heard from her in more than a week. He didn't feel it necessary to worry at first since he knew even she could be busy at times; but with his perceptive mind he had speculated the worse possible situations.

Hubert felt as if he was just speaking aloud, unsure if Pascal was listening. He glanced over at her; it looked as though she was sleeping, but he couldn't really tell. It was staggeringly quiet and he felt the silence was piercing him more than Pascal's loud mouth would. He began to realize her positivity, her optimistic ways, and her air-headed mind was what made him feel at ease. It's her eccentric behavior that makes her Pascal, and he undeniably had a fondness for it.

But all of that energetic power was drained lifeless from her. This was rare for Hubert to see, if at all.

Hubert let out a sigh as he finished his tidying up in Pascal's room. He then made his away to Pascal's bedside and took a nearby chair to sit beside her. He noticed she was fidgeting around, so he assumed she was still awake. "How are you feeling?" his words were firm but had a great amount of concern.

"Meh…I'm still all woozy snoozy, and I still feel all feverish I guess…" she spoke slowly as her voice drifted into a more quiet tone.

A fluttering bird came chirping into the window; it made its way toward the communicator. "I think that's Cheria" he tapped on the communicator as he read the message.

'_Pascal's sick? Well I can't make it over there right now but I do know a remedy you can use. It's a sort of medicine that reduces fevers. It's called 'Love!' _

_Just kidding, I'm on my way to drop off some medicine; just make sure she gets lots of sleep right now._

_Good Luck!_

_Cheria_

He clenched a tight fist with his free hand; "T-That girl…" If it wasn't Malik or Richard teasing him, it would be her.

Pascal partially leaned up from her bed. "Hey Hu…" her voice cracked a bit; it was soft but surprisingly held more energy as it did before.

Hubert caught attention quickly, "Yes?"

"I was kinda wondering…why'd you come see me?" she turned her eyes to Hubert who was laying his hands in his lap looking at the floor.

"Well…" he hesitated for a moment then lifted his head up adjusting his glasses once more.

"I was worried…about you." He felt an edgy nervousness as his face was overcome with a hot blush.

Pascal's face lit up with a slight blush as well. She gave a warm smile at Hubert then twiddled with her hands."Oh…" There was an awkward long, awkward silence between them as they motioned their eyes in different directions from each other. Hubert had the same fuzzy-headed feeling just as he did when he made his unsuccessful confession to Pascal at Fodra. Pascal suddenly broke the silence with a wondering thought.

"But you have lots of work and stuff, why would you worry about me?"

Hubert swallowed as he began to gather up his words. "I-I don't know, maybe it's because your so absent-minded I feel the need to worry about you." As he paced himself, his heart began to beat more soundly in rhythm.

"Well, I suppose there's more to it than that…" The room was so quiet he could barely tell if it was his inner thoughts speaking or not. After a slight pause, he felt a gentle warm breath near his cheek.

"More to it?"

He jerked back in the chair causing his glasses to fling to the floor. Pascal's face was inches away from his own; his face lit up and was almost as hot as hers. "P – Pascal! What are you doing? Get back in your bed!"

"But you just said—" She leaned closer, forehead almost touching his.

"Enough, I-I said nothing of the sort!" He gently nudged her back a bit to keep his distance.

Flustered as he was, he picked up his fallen glasses and adjusted them accordingly heaving a great sigh. "You need to get some rest Pascal, you shouldn't be acting so jittery while you're sick." He was quick to change the subject immediately.

"Actually, I feel a hundred times better!" her face brightened up with a smile.

"W-What? But didn't you just recently start feeling unwell?" he sputtered, puzzled at how she could recuperate that fast.

"Yeah I dunno why but I just feel a lot better now."

His head shook in disbelief. "You can't just suddenly 'feel better' within an hour."

"Well I said I do, okay? Sheesh..." She sat on her bed, lifting the bangs from her forehead then observing her own clothes. "Aw, man I'm drenched in my own sweat..."

Hubert shivered. "That is disgusting..."

"Yeah, I should probably-" She smiled to herself. "Actually…"

Hubert caught notice to her smile that conjured up an idea. "What are you-?"

Pascal made a quick haste to begin to remove the straps from her shoulders, her gloves, her long black leggings, and as soon as she lifted up her shirt Hubert immediately knocked over the chair and grabbed her by the wrists.

"W-What on earth are you doing, Pascal?" His face turned a crimson red that made his whole body feel hot.

"Huh? I was gonna change real fast instead of taking a bath." She dropped the edge of her shirt with Hubert's hands still clung to her wrists.

"Then at least have the decency to handle your private matters in the bathroom!" Hubert's immense blush grew across his face. "Y-You can't just...strip in front of me!"

"Why does it matter? I always change out here; it's not really a private thing…" She tilted her head in a questionable manner.

Hubert was breathless and bewildered at her incoherent attitude. Surely she was absent-minded but to be so oblivious to such things always made him wonder how she could be so amazingly smart but unbelievably dense. Did she really have no dignity at all?

"It's ill-mannered behavior to just throw off your clothes in front of someone!"

"Oh manners banana-ers! You sound just like Fourier right now. I may not be mannered but I'm sure as heck really hot in these clothes right now. If it bothers you so much just turn around or something."

"Turn around?" Even if he didn't see anything, the very thought of Pascal changing in the same room with him made him overwhelmingly embarrassed and flustered. He shook his head vigorously. "I-I can't do that!"

"Well sheesh, you don't give me many options do you?" Once again, she began to try to remove her clothing.

As she struggled again to get her shirt off, Hubert tightened his grip on her wrists causing a slight struggle between the two of them. As they made slight movements, Pascal's foot slid on some of her scattered papers (under which what may have been a banana peel).

"Uwah!" she swung back causing the clinging blue-haired boy to fall forward on top of her. There was a loud thud followed after.

"Ouchies!" Pascal rubbed the back of her head as she lay flat on the floor with Hubert hovered over her.

"Are you alright?" he fixed his tilted glasses and lifted up his head. "I apologize, I should have been more careful."

"Nah its fine, I think I slipped on something" Pascal adjusted herself slightly, causing Hubert to be pulled closer. He felt his heart beat pick up rapidly as he was drawn closer to her. For a moment, their eyes met and they were gazing at each other in complete silence. It lasted only seconds, but it felt like endless minutes.

There was a knock on the door that made the both of them tug back and face the same direction. The door opened and a girl with a luscious pink hair poked her head in. Her eyes widened as she noticed Hubert and Pascal in the odd like position. She put a hand to her opened mouth. "Uh...am I interrupting something?"

"Me and Hu went 'Ka-pow!' and I then I kinda sorta bonked my head on my floor"

Hubert abruptly stood up, parting himself from Pascal. "Before you speculate any thoughtless assumptions, I can assure you it was an accident." He turned away in embarrassment.

"So you "accidently" fell on top of each other making googly eyes?" Cheria teased.

"I was not doing anything of the sort! S-She-!" he refrained himself from trying to explain any further – knowing that if he did, it would have sounded much worse than her own interpretation she may have already had in mind.

He bit his lower lip. "It was an accident, nothing more."

"Right…" Cheria waved her hand letting out a small laugh. She then crossed her arms and turned to Pascal. "You sure don't look sick to me, Pascal."

"Well duh, I'm not anymore." Pascal lifted herself up.

"Really? I even brought medicine" She dropped a bag in her arm and walked towards Pascal resting a hand on her head. "Hm, your right; you definitely don't have a fever right now." She put a finger to her chin before immediately tapping her fist on her palm in realization.

"She insisted she was better all of a sudden; I was barely here for an hour." He declared rather quickly before heading towards the door. He glanced back at Cheria. "I apologize for wasting some of your time, Cheria"

Cheria gave an assuring hand gesture. "It's fine really; Sophie insisted on me visiting anyway since she hasn't heard too much from you guys."

"I suppose I'll be taking my leave then—"

"W-Wait!" Pascal scurried over to Hubert, tightly embracing his waist. "Thanks for the company Hu!~"

Hubert felt his glasses began to tilt off the edge of his nose; his face bright red in embarrassment. "U-uh y-yes you're welcome Pascal—now if you'll please—"

Pascal released the flushed Hubert, giving him a playful look. "You better come visit again Hu! I'll be sending you some messages!"

"R-Right" Hubert exhaled a long breath and faced the door turning slightly.

A small smile appeared on his face before departing. It was sincere yet sad – as if there were words he wanted to say but with his shy nature unable to do so.

Pascal gave a deep breath and began to strip off her clothing once more. "Okay I really need to change."

"Pascal," Cheria gave a tug to Pascal's collar. "Take a bath, then change." After releasing her, she faced her with an anticipated smile on her face. "But first, I want details."

Pascal gave a perplexed look. "About what?"

"About what happened between you and Hubert, obviously!"

"Nothing really, I was snoozing a whole lot." Pascal tied her arms around her head tipping back and forth. "He did talk to me though, which made me feel a lot better!"

She sighed. "Honestly Pascal you're hopeless…"

"Huh? What do ya mean?"

Cheria shook her head in disbelief. "You were totally lovesick! A deprivation of love, Pascal! It's unbelievable you don't even realize your own feelings." She put a hand to her chest as her voice began to intensify. "Didn't you ever feel like your heart was in pain?"

"I guess my heart did feel kinda achy sometimes…and while working I got a lot of headaches." she scratched her head thoughtlessly. "But ya know, I've never been good with all that mushy stuff…"

Cheria put her hands on Pascal's shoulders. "Alright, as your friend, I will help you "A fiery heat of determination was shining on Cheria's face.

"Whaa? But you couldn't even confess to Asbel how do you expect to—"She felt a slight pinch of her cheek. "Ya'ow!"

"T-that's different!" Cheria crossed her arms trying to cover up her embarrassment. "Anyway, as I said, I'll help you two lovebirds out!"

Pascal rubbed her cheek. "But Hu always yells and lectures me all the time and talks all intelligent and stuff, there's no way he'd like someone like me" She looked away slightly disappointed.

"Pascal, he _does_ like you. He only lectures you because he cares about you; I can tell he worries about you constantly." She playfully poked her forehead. "And you may not talk all high and mighty like him, but you're incredibly smart and strong-willed you know; I'm pretty sure that's what he likes most about you." She gave her a bright, assuring smile.

"Eh…?" Pascal tilted her head to the side unable to think of anything to say. Cheria pulled back with a distressed look on her face. "Wait, what time is it?"

Pascal glanced at her watch. "Uh…I think it's like after five or something."

"Oh gosh I have to go; Sophie and Asbel are expecting curry tonight!"

She stepped back towards the door almost tripping over a couple books. "I'll leave the medicine just in case, see you Pascal!" She slammed the door after her in a hurry.

Pascal stretched her arms in the air, glancing at her tidy room. Her papers were organized neatly, her books were piled in neat stacks, and the tools that she had scattered about were laid out nice and orderly. Her dishes were even washed, dried, and put away.

"Gosh, Hu can clean better than Fourier!" she laughed to herself as she sat on her bed feeling drowsy.

Pascal yawned and sprawled her body on her bed. She felt tired; almost enough to sleep in a matter of seconds. Forgetting completely about her damp and sweaty clothing (which almost felt dry now), she rested her head on her soft pillow. As she began to doze off, there was a sudden chirp that broke her snooze. She turned over half-asleep not realizing the communicator was lying on her pillow. It was after another loud chirp that she snapped back to reality and sat up grabbing the communicator.

She tapped the communicator and read a short message:

'_I'm glad you're feeling better, I'll try to visit sometime.'_

_Hubert_

She gave her usual radiant smile as she read the simple message to herself. She then tapped in her reply and tossed her communicator to the left side of her bed. Closing her eyes, she thought deeply of about the happiness and comfort she felt around Hubert. The past few days she had felt nothing but loneliness and mental fatigue; but when he came to visit her it all seemed to just fade away instantly. Even though he always got annoyed or mad at her, it was never out of true animosity; not at all. She could feel the warmth and kindness through his actions. Even if she did not truly understand love, she now knew she really did love him in that special sort of way. Thoughts and feelings fogged her mind as she drifted off to her dreams.

She never had such a peaceful slumber until that day.

...

And she never ended up taking that bath.


End file.
